Tuesday, November 3, 2015

"The Three Geeks mistakenly turn Buffy invisible. The Slayer takes some advantage from going unseen. Willow has to do the detective without using magic, while Xander finds Spike doing some weird physical training."

Daniel's Thoughts:

Really? They can't even have candles?

Searching for drugs...I mean magic things...in the cushions

Invisibility ray...step up from a freeze ray?

Ok, at least Buffy realizes she was being a bad friend when her friend was drowning.

It's ok, Spike. You had a blanket. You're fine from the sun.

SHENANIGANS. Spike is RIGHT in direct sunlight in front of the window.

Aww, it's LA Law's Susan Ruttan

"We don't gay." Ugh, that's sad. A time when it's assumed being gay would make you a bad parent. I mean, there are tons of people who still think that way. Kinda gross.

Oops. Accidentally invisibled the slayer.

Marcy call back!

I love that Anya is excited about Buffy's haircut.

Look at all the things we can do with our visual effects department

The eyes thing. Anya doesn't know what to do!

Speaking of all the things I was blaming Buffy for...Xander hasn't been that great either. I mean, he talks all the time to Anya and Buffy about what Willow is going through but not talking to her about it.

Buffy is having so much fun being invisible. It's actually kinda cute.

I mean it doesn't give you license to steal a car, Buff...or a police golf cart? [We've seen what happens when she drives real cars. - Z]

Second episode in a row where I have to tell Spike to put some damn clothes on. [My bad. - Marti Noxon]

See? Willow, you can be really badass as yourself, with your computer skills. Wait til iPhones are invented. You'll be unstoppable.

Why'd they choose Jonathan to make the call? Clearly Buffy knows his voice the best.

The camera work is great. I love that it seems like the cameraman doesn't know where to point. It's kinda breaking the fourth wall, a little bit which is not really a staple of the show except for singing to the camera in OMWF.

"Jonathan? Warren? [To Andrew]...who are you?" Heh.

No one remembers the flying monkeys...cause...like it didn't happen on air.

No matter how lame the trio are...at least this episode brought Buffy and Willow back together.

Zelda's Thoughts:

Um so. Why is Spike's lighter buried in the cushions of the couch?

"You penis!" I think that's my favorite insult. Maybe it's just the way Jonathan yells it at Warren

Buffy wig! I see you! I actually don't think it looks awful, but I've seen other bloggers mock it relentlessly.

"What are you doing? And here?"

Spike should really be catching on fire with all the light coming through the blinds in the kitchen.

Oh man, Buffy, your shirt is completely see-through. Not great for greeting the social worker.

"It's been a bad time for a while now, hasn't it, Miss Summers?" sad but true

She brings up Buffy's unemployment - good set up for the Doublemeat nonsense next ep.

Aw, Buffy got her adorable haircut and was promptly made blinvisible.

This is the most whimsical we've seen Buffy all season. But also the most unfocused and irresponsible we've seen her in several seasons.

I love that everyone thinks Buffy's haircut is adorable, sight unseen. I mean, they're right, but ... anyway, it's a very cute thing. This ep is actually a really nice palate cleanser after how much we hated Wrecked.

mmmph but I don't really like the mean pranking of Mr. Kroeger. While it's good for Buffy that her bad report can now basically be nullified, this is cruel to do to a woman who is honestly trying to do her job and protect Dawn, who - let's face it - could use some protecting. This isn't what we do, Buffy. We don't go after innocent humans. We are not Machiavelli.

While we continue to wonder both why Spike hasn't covered the windows in his crypt, or how he is powering his TV and fridge, I do rather like that both the TV and fridge are clearly decades old.

"An unpleasant tactile experience."

"We're not killing anybody. Especially not Buffy!" // "You guys are so immature." Yeah, why can't you be a sociopathic rapey murderer like me?

So is this when we really start to see that Warren is distinctly darker than the other two? They're semi-harmless goobers - granted, they're goobers who need a serious re-education on how to treat women and how to be ... human - but Warren does not give a shit.

Naked Spike Shots!

The ear thing is freaking me out.

"Free of life? Got another name for that. Dead."

AWWWW REMEMBER INTERNET CAFES, YOU GUYS? REMEMBER?

AWWWW REMEMBER ANSWERING MACHINES, YOU GUYS? REMEMBER?

"Tell her about the pudding!"

The camera pans to a reaction shot ... of Blinvisible Buffy. I kinda love it.

That is an incredibly poorly-hidden van.

"Who is this? You sound familiar." "I'm nobody ... no one you know." I'm ashamed to say my sister and I use that one a lot. No, you know what? I'm not ashamed.

OMG this scene. It's smack talk between four invisible people. the camera flipping back and forth like a tennis game. This is amazing.

I love that they remember Tucker. I barely remember Tucker. My memory of Tucker is chiefly for the purpose of winning bar trivia.

Wow, Spike, your pillow talk is awful. "I knew the only thing better than killing a Slayer would be f-"also a callback to when he and Dru got off on killing the Slayer during the Boxer Rebellion.

Hey, I just had a thought. Rats only live a few years. Willow may have transformed Amy back into a human just in time. [Well... ~Peter Pettigrew]

Man, poor Dawn. She's trying to play it so lightly, but she is being super neglected. Willow and Buffy are finally home, and they're both heading off to sleep the day away.

Yep, time for my Amy Shenanigan. How the fuck does she know about Rack? She literally JUST stopped being a rat. It's such a contrivance for the sake of moving along Willow's junkie arc. Okay, so they drop in some language that she knew about him back before she became a rat, but I have a lot of trouble believing the Amy we knew would be into this.

"It's cool, isn't it," Amy says as the camera pans over a waiting room full of skeletal-looking junkies.

Fuck off, Rack. I hate him and I hate the actor.

"It's okay, it's over fast." // "I'm just going to take a little tour." Ugh, can this episode be over already?

I always forgot when the creepy inflated Tara dress thing happened. It's both sad and kind of horrifying.

And in this week's Inconsistent Characterization of Dawn, she's completely blase about Buffy/Willow's abandonment, and assures Willow - seeming completely sincere - that she's completely fine on her own.

Oh look now it's time for Amy to fulfill the role of junkie friend.

Willow's Rack's new favorite? Amy knows this after taking her there once? Ugh whatever to the timeline.

God fucking dammit, Willow. Do NOT take Dawn to Rack's den.

How am I going to pick out a favorite line when I'm spending this whole episode just being mad at all the characters?

More Naked Spike.

AH is doing a good job with the arc, and even if it's clear the writers are doing a bit of a 180 on what Willow and her magic has been a metaphor for, the metaphor for drug addiction as executed here mostly works. I'm just frustrated.

"I'm in your system now. You're gonna crave me like I crave blood." More junkie language.

It is kind a cool horrifying thing, that Willow's trippy magic adventures with Rack actually summoned a demon.

YEAH DAWN YOU KICK THAT DEMON IN THE GUT.

Dawn slapped Willow. Good.

But Willow's finally recognized she has a problem. "God, I need help. Please, please help me."

And Buffy's face. She's still pretty dead inside. But she has to be strong for Willow.

"If you could be, you know, Plain Old Willow or Super Willow, who would you be? I guess you don't actually have an option on the whole super thing." // "Wil, there's nothing wrong with you. You don't need magic to be special." It's actually a really great distillation of how Willow got to this point, this conversation. And a continued set up for Willow's final arc this season. She thinks Tara never knew "boring" non-magic Willow, but she also thinks that Tara is what made her special. When Tara's taken away again, she doesn't want to be anything resembling Willow anymore. But we're not there yet.

Buffy bought $300 worth of garlic and hung it from her windows.

Daniel's Thoughts:

It’s the next day and Tara has stayed all night because Buffy and Willow are all irresponsible and stuff.

I’m kinda jealous. I could never “just close my eyes for a minute” and fall asleep for the whole night.

They’re all bloody. Buffy, this is not healthy. Which, yeah, I know is the point. But I wish it would stop.

Season 4, they drifted apart…season 5, they all got back together…and now season 6, they’re all just self-destroying.

Spike: It’s daylight, I can’t leave. Yeah you can. You’re immune to the sun, remember? Just like put a blanket on your head and you can walk for miles.

Aww, Tara/Willow awkwardness.

Joyce still has African art on her wall.

Haha, there’s a sign at the magic shop: Shoplifters will be transfigured.

"Martha Stewart isn’t a demon, she’s a witch."

How does Amy know about this guy? She’s been a rat for years.

And everyone in the waiting room looks like a junkie…we get it.

Rack is so gross.

See, they’re not actually doing any magic. They’re hallucinating and…yeah ok, rolling on the ceiling but they’re not accomplishing anything. They’re just high. It’s not so much a metaphor. They’re just high. Cool visuals, though?

Putting Tara’s clothes on the bed and magicking them to have her shape to hold her is actually kinda sweet…

“I’ll leave a note for Buffy on the fridge. It’s the first place she goes after patrolling..” Well sometimes she does crave a fat free yogurt…

No one in the waiting room this time…and Willow can just walk into Rack’s room?

Again, nothing really to do with magic…she’s just really high. Is she traveling through space? Is she hallucinating it? It just feels like a hallucination.

Eww, put some clothes on, Spike.

Hairy demon kinda looks like a werewolf.

Willow is steering by motioning like Anya did in the Restless dream:

(Thanks, Lucas, for making this gif!)

Drunk driving/magic driving… we get it. The ‘metaphor’ really didn’t use to bother me this much.

I like that we’ve had at least some real location shots...

And you know what? Shut up, Buffy. As much as I hate Willow at this moment, Buffy saw everything that was going on with Willow lately and did absolutely nothing to help her best friend so she really can’t be this mad at her. Willow’s been self-destructing for a while. Then again, so has Buffy and Willow doesn’t seem to notice or care. They’re both being horrible friends. The only person who is open and honest is Anya…

At least they’re being open and honest now? They’re being there for each other? As contrived as this episode is…at least it has that?

First appearance: Rack (trivia note: same actor as Kralik from Helpless)Recurring: Tara, AmyDawn's comment that Buffy goes right to the fridge after patrolling is a callback to Faith's remark about slaying making you hungry and horny.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

[IMDB's summary sucked so Z wrote her own]. While Willow finds an old magic buddy with the newly de-rat-fied Amy, Buffy seeks companionship of a Spike-shaped variety.

Daniel's Thoughts:

I really don’t remember this episode that much.

Interesting, a non-magical mugging

Buffy can still kick their asses….just not stake them

Damn, Spike, stop it.

Did they just reference Jessica Fletcher as a go-to pop culture detective reference?

“I’m the only one here for you, pet. You’ve got no one else.” Yep, nothing abusive about that relationship. If he hits you, he just likes you.

‘Revele.’ Wow, so that’s all Willow has to do to get a spell for basically anything they need help with ever? How convenient. I guess she can use that for the rest of the episodes for all things. [Yeahhhhhh that's a pretty convenient never-again-used deus ex machina - Z]

Hey, Amy!

Andrew’s Mission: Impossible parody is dated.

Oh right, the freeze machine. More DC than Buffy. The nerds are so a way for the comic book geek writers to fulfill certain weird fantasies. It just doesn’t fit in this universe.

..With my freezeray, I will stop…

Elizabeth Anne Allen is really good at acting like a rat.

Poor rat Amy had no concept of time.

"1.Larry’s gay. 2 Larry’s dead…"

It must be weird to for Buffy to see Willow living in her dead mom's room. (And still probably not paying rent or contributing to the house in any way.)

"How have you been?" "Rat, you?" "Dead." "Oh."

I hate that trope where someone has something important to say, gets interrupted, and then never says the thing. Like the other person wouldn’t be curious.

I can't call shenanigans on Sunnydale having a museum, because even my one-horse town had like one or two tiny museums. None with fancy steal-able diamonds, but still.

Okay, but this shot is cheekbone city.

Oh Spike. Two steps forward, five miles back. This is why you need your own internal morality, not just What Will Make The Object of My Affection Happy Today? As soon as he thinks his chip is broken, he goes out looking for a human meal.

I love that Tara isn't severing ties with the other Scoobies, even if she broke up with Willow. "You know that I will always be there for you, right?" really makes it clear how much she's become one of Dawn's surrogate moms.

Aw man, the Scoobies are all congratulatory of Willow for using her tech fu instead of witch fu, and then NOPE she's still using magic.

Good for Anya, using her words. The Scoobies need to use their words more.

Wow and Willow's in such freaking denial about why Tara left her, and her own culpability. You'd think, after Tabula Rasa, she'd be a bit more aware, but nope.

In character continuity, completely suppressing her heartbreak is something we've seen from Willow before - y'all remember Brave Litle Drunk Dancing Toaster Willow after Oz left?

Oh I forgot Spike visited the Trio.

This whole sequence is delightful and yet somehow we didn't quote it.
Probably because Warren is the worst.

"Dudes, I think that's Spike." Oh Andrew.

Okay, so at this point in the narrative, the Scoobies still don't know the Trio are behind Life Serial. Spike's come to Warren because he remembers him from robot days of yore.

Amy's wearing a fluffy pink sweater, but we can neither confirm nor deny that this sweater previously belonged to Willow.

At least Warren's scanning of the chip doesn't involve a really fake-looking opening of Spike's skull.

I should see Red Dwarf. My sister liked it.

Hey, did you guys know (yeah, you probably knew) that Adam Busch (Warren) was in last week's episode of Danny Strong's Empire? True story.

Hey, remember when it was a thing that clothing had like foil woven into it so everything glittered? Both Dawn and Tara are sparkling like Twilight vampires here.

I feel like Amy didn't have this level of power back when she turned into a rat. Like, the rat thing was the biggest trick in her arsenal at that point. Now with a snap of her fingers she can fetch a lesbian to flirt with Willow. It bothers me a bit, because while I think it's a great idea to bring Amy back, the writers have made her pretty malleable to their storytelling purposes (like, HOW does she know about Rack in the next episode? It doesn't really make sense. And then the only times they bring her back are to show the junkie Willow is trying not to be, overworking their metaphor. And then when they bring her back in S7 ... it's just such a lot of whatever)

"Responsible people are always so concerned with being good all the time, that when they finally get a taste of being bad, they can't get enough. It's like all ... kablooey." Because it hasn't been about being "good" for Willow, it's been about power and control, feeling like reality is hers to shape to her will. But because she still thinks of herself as Reliable Dog Geyser Person, she doesn't see how any of her actions, no matter how irresponsible, could be bad. She's a "good" person. Good people don't do bad things.

Aw a payphone. The last payphone left in America.

Oh look, Spike owns another shirt! A purple shirt!

Sigh. And thus begins the You Came Back Wrong campaign. Please stop making Buffy feel even worse about her resurrection than she already does.

This whole Bronze sequence is just ... Willow and Amy are being so irresponsible and awful to these innocent people they don't even know. Stop, Willow. Stop, Amy. Stop what you're doing. People are not your toys.

Time for house-breaking sexytimes!

As Joss said in the commentary of ... some episode (I wanna say Wild at Heart?), "Au revoir, Monsier Metaphor!"

It is pretty surprising to see such explicit sexual movements on a show originally aimed at teens.

Favorite Lines:

Daniel: "Oh, for crying out loud. This is bizarre. You're all, 'la la la!' with, with the magic, and the not talking, like everything's normal, when we all know that Tara up and left you and now everyone's scared to say anything to you. Except me. Is this that thing I do that you were commenting - " - AnyaZelda: "We should probably just get the freeze ray out of here now." - Warren

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

"Willow tries to solve too many problems with magic, accidentally making herself and the others forget who they are just as a demon loan shark and his boys come looking to collect a debt from Spike."

**A Note: Zelda and I do the NYT Crossword every day, because nerds, and yesterday we discovered that there was a clue/answer that was Tabula Rasa and we both thought that was a cool awesome coincidence, also because nerds.

Zelda's Thoughts:

I'd like to first apologize for some of my remarks in our recent posts. It's been brought to my attention that I was speaking in ignorance regarding Buffy's depression and the ebbs and flows of lows and highs that accompany it. I want to apologize if I have hurt or offended anyone with my disrespect. If I have anything further to add, I'd theorize that SMG thought Buffy might be working through it faster than the wrters intended (see: end of Gone), and this would account for a tonal inconsistency. Anyway, thanks for putting up with me. Now let's get our amnesia on!

YAY TABULA RASA. IT'S ALL DOWNHILL FROM HERE. At least in terms of depressingness.

"With the rising music and the rising ... music." Spike made a penis joke.

Ugh. This shark. He's sooooooooooo badly acted, and the makeup is goofy. The only reason I'm okay with the shark is I consider it a shoutout to Restless: A shark. With feet, and much less fins.

Buffy's rolling her eyes at this stupid shark. I'm right there with you, Buffy.

Spike runs away. Why don't the vampires chase him? This whole plot is so dumb. It's lucky I love the rest of the episode.

"What? I'm just saying what everyone's thinking." In case we were in doubt about Anya being the new Cordy.

I'm glad they're not brushing off Buffy's confession as nothing.

"We didn't wreck. We didn't know" // "We didn't wanna know. We were so selfish. I was so selfish." See, and at this moment it seems like Willow is actually taking responsibility for her actions. But no, it's self-pity. And she knows how to fix feeling bad about herself. It's called enspelling everything and everyone. STOP IT, WILLOW.

"Do you think I'm stupid? I know you used that spell on me." // "Tara, I didn't mean to -" // "To what? Violate my mind like that? How could you, Willow? How could you, after what Glory did to me?"

And the way Willow recoils at the word violate, it's the same as Andrew and Jonathan will, when Katrina calls them out on their intended rape in Dead Things. All three of these people, taking the action and not recognizing what it is, not willing to acknowledge they're as awful as what that word means they are. (Warren, on the other hand, he knew what it was he was doing, that fuckface)

"If you don't want to fight, you don't fight. You don't use magic to make a fight disappear."

Tara is being so mature in this fight. Pointing out what Willow's doing but not in an attacking manner. Trying to make Willow aware of the full violation and implication of her careless actions, and sticking up for herself. And Willow's still in denial that what she's doing is hurting others, is an abuse.

"I will go a month without doing any magic. I won't do a single spell, I swear." // "Go a week. One week without magic." // "Fine. Fine, that's easy." Next day: Willow uses magic with no sign of guilt or awareness.

Oh, in case I squawked in the past, we did just confirm that Sunnydale Airport is not an international airport - he's connecting through LAX to get to Heathrow. Not that solves anything about the One Starbucks Town having an airport.

"Bara bara himble gemination. AAAAAH"

"I must be a noble vampire. A good guy. On a mission of redemption. I help the hopeless. I'm a vampire with a soul." // "A vampire with a soul? Oh my god, how lame is that?" YES MAKE FUN OF ANGEL KEEP DOING IT IT GIVES ME LIFE

Seriously, though, is Anya's book ONLY for summoning bunnies? Why does every spell bring a new bunny? Adorable but seriously what kind of useless book is that, and why would Anya ever permit it in her shop?

I love how done with Randy's noble musings Joan is.

"What capital? I never know what you're talking about. Loo, shag, brolly, what the hell is all that?" // "What? There's no way that you could remember me saying any of those words." Have I mentioned lately how much I love this episode?

Now Giles is dueling with a skeleton.

This is amazing

"And I feel compelled to take some vengeance on you."

This is basically Daniel and me.

Oh god, Buffy's face as the spell lifts. As she suddenly remembers everything. It hurts.

And Tara's face, as she remembers everything. And looks at Willow. Who doesn't even say anything.

And Dawn's face. She knows too, what Willow did.

This is the genius of this episode. It's so damn fun, but then it punches you right in the gut. Because it's awful, what Willow did. And it fixed nothing. It made the pain all the worse, for the brief absence.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

"Sunnydale is alive with the sound of music as a mysterious force causes everyone in town to burst into full musical numbers, revealing their innermost secrets as they do. But some townsfolk are dancing so much that they simply burst into flames, and it becomes clear that maybe living in a musical isn't so great after all."

Daniel's Thoughts:

I love this opening. It’s so old school musically. Which Joss is a big fan of.

“I think it’s romantic.” “No it’s not.” What? Why not? Is it because they’re both women? Shut up Buffy & Xander. (I assumed they meant it wasn't romantic, people uncontrollably singing, based on Dawn's next line, but you're right, the context makes it ambiguous. Kind of like Black Widow's line about monsters in Age of Ultron - Z)

I mean, the guy burning up? That’s actually pretty scary.

Anya’s hair, also. The 1940s ‘do is amazing. And another Anya outfit win.

And I like Xander's PJs. Total win for the costume designer here.

Xander/Anya duet. So well written. I love the 40s wackiness of it. The He Said/She Said of it.

“She eats these skeezy cheeses that I can’t describe.”

LOOK AT ME! I’M DANCING CRAZY!

He’s so stiff when he dances. Fred Astaire, he is not. The choreography is wonderful.

They’ve really captured an amazing moment in time with this scene.

Xander's apartment looks even more like a set with the camera angles.

“When I get so worn and wrinkly that I look like David Brinkley.”

Hey a real street! They really went on location for this one!

“Clearly our number is a retro pastiche….” Well you did have your break away hit with the Bunnies part, earlier.

Marti Noxon has a good voice! We don’t get to hear the ending of this song, “hey I’m not wearing underwear.” (It’s very light.)

And the sweeping guy!

“We pulled her out of a hell dimension.” NO YOU DIDN’T.

Anya patting Giles. Amazing.

Buffy has learned from her past drinking.

“What else would I want to pump you for. I really just said that didn’t, I?” Ha. Foreshadowing L

Spike’s face, when he realizes he’s singing. So good.

James has got a pretty awesome voice, too.

SHENANIGANS! Why is there a funeral at night? I mean first of all. Funerals don’t happen at night. Second of all, this is Sunnydale. Why would they go to a graveyard at night when it’s Sunnydale? (Because MUSICAL. - Z)

Dawn's right: Math always seems better when you’re singing about it.

Aww. When Tara realize that Willow brain-raped her. (And a lot of people would argue, actual rape too…since Willow took away Tara’s ability to consent to the sex the night before – in the last episode.)

The ballet Dawn and the dummies do is really graceful and powerful.

Also, creepy dummies. They give Buffy the wig. Or maybe she got over that because of Sid.

Hinton Battle! His make-up is awesome.

Oh man. I really want Joss Whedon to write a Broadway musical.

“I’m just worried this whole session’s going to turn into an 80s training montage”. If only!

So glad that Anthony Head didn’t leave before this episode aired. He’s so amazing in it. And such a beautiful voice.

Buffy’s stunt double is an amazing athlete.

Sarah’s a pretty good athlete, herself. Her double might have to do a lot of work, but she still has to know how to punch and look like she knows what she’s doing.

I just realized….Tara’s shirt. It looks like the one where she gets…spoilered.

And this duet. Tara & Giles sound beautiful together. It’s so sad. They both realize what they have to do. She sings a lot in her head voice, but I like her natural chest voice better.

The dummy sounds like Christian Slater.

“I’ve seen these underworld childbride deals. They never end well. Maybe once.” Heh.

“Would you say it’s a breakaway pop hit or more of a book number?”

And I think this is my favorite song, "Walk Through the Fire". And there really are so many amazing ones to choose one. I love all of them. But this one. The melody; the message; the solo and the group parts. Each line captures everyone’s personality.

“So I will walk through the fire cause where else can I turn?”

“I’m free if that bitch dies…I better help her out.”

“Beady eyes is right, we’re needed!”

And the imagery!

Every time a fire truck passes me (and it’s NYC so it’s often) – I start singing the end of this song. But not too loud, because, ya know, singing “let it burrrrrn” when a fire truck passes might be considered in some circles as insensitive.

“I think this line’s mostly filler.”

She needs back up! Anya! Tara!

The Bronze is looking extra special!

This song has a lot of verses….and it’s basically saying the same thing. It’s a tad repetitive. But here it is. What she finally wants to tell everybody but could only do so in song.

And everyone’s faces when they realize that Buffy was not in a hell dimension…but safe in heaven.

And Buffy’s manic dance. She’s so good.

And Spike to the rescue…ugh. Couldn’t Giles catch her and stop her from burning up?

Ugh. And this reveal, which Z and I are categorizing as an evil reveal, just feels like lazy writing. Especially since it makes Xander a murderer. Indirectly, sure, but his spell caused the death of at least one human that we know of which they don’t acknowledge.

Anya’s face when Xander says, “does this mean I have to be your queen.” Heh.

And I don’t know why Sweet didn’t go for it. Would have saved a lot of misery.

The hand in hand choreography in “where do we go from here” is awesome.

And Spike’s the first one to have the spell wear off.

“Get your kumba-ya-yas out.”

Ugh. Their first real kiss. Spike & Buffy. Kill me.

Danger, Will Robinson!

Zelda's Thoughts:

OMG IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S ONCE MORE WITH FEELING

LOOK AT THE HAPPY OPTIMISTIC CREDITS

DOOM APPROACHES

BUT THE DOOM SINGS AND DANCES

I LOVE THIS

I LOVE THIS

Why would Buffy's alarm go off at 7 if she has no job to get to? Or is it just to see Dawn off? Okay, let's go with that.

And see, Buffy's been apparently doing better, but she's back to apathy this episode. It's inconsistent and it bugs me. They all knew it was leading up to this ep, they should have planned better.

SINGING TIME. SINGING TIME.

"She ain't got that swing" DOUBLE MEANING, DO YOU GET IT?

This is my favorite choreography:

I love that Buffy's I-want song is about how she doesn't have any wants.

Tara's pretty corset! Yay pretty corset. Willow's dress is dullish.

"Merciful Zeus!" // "We thought it was just us!"

"Well, I sang, but I had my guitar at the hotel ... that would explain the huge backing orchestra I couldn't see and the synchronized dancing from the room service chaps." // "And we were arguing and then everything rhymed and there were harmonies and the dance with coconuts." // "There was an entire verse about the cous-cous."

Aw man, Giles's first theory was so right.

And it's a cool subtle move - Buffy's "theory" is that it doesn't matter. The rest of the Scoobies (except Giles) takes it as an empowering speech that they can conquer anything. Giles sees that it's actually Buffy not really caring what caused it or why it's happening.

YEAH GILES YOU SING THAT DESCANT. YOU DO YOU.

The Mustard Song. So absurd. So wonderful. And hi, David Fury!

"It's not just us."

"I'm a hair's breath from investigating puppies."

OMG NOT the parking lot! This calls for a shot!

Tara's so beautiful in this scene. And her voice soooooooooo pretty. TOO BAD HER HAPPINESS IS BASED ON A LIE. BAD WILLOW, BAD.

It's sad because Tara thinks she's making a cute joke, "I'm under your spell." But it's literally true, as she realizes in the reprise.

The dancing's kinda awkward tho, ngl

And more "Hey, we're on UPN now!" as Tara levitates.

That's some very fancy footwork. Sorry, tap dancing dude.

HEY, THAT DEAD GUY? THAT'S XANDER'S FAULT.

I love this duet!!!!!!!!!!

It's interesting, bc neither Xander nor Willow can really sing. But Nicky throws himself so fully into the number that it's still delightful.

Their PJs, so cute.

Best headline is best.

"This is my verse, hello!" LOVEEEEEEEEEEEE

Yeah my commentary here is not gonna be helpful. I'm just so happy. When each song starts, I'm like clutching my head in excitement.

"We could really raise the beam in makin' marriage a hell!" I love that line omg

I'd agree with Daniel about his shenanigan of the nighttime funeral, but it's a musical - all sorts of nonsense is happening. Giles had a huge backing orchestra and (something else). In other words,

Shenanigans! They dig six feet deep for graves, right? James Marsters is NOT six feet, and yet he's able to poke his head out easily over the top of the grave.

Man, I loved Tara's corset, but this yellow shirt is just super not flattering.

Oh man, Tara's face when she realizes. I have my issues with Amber, but she is GOOD this episode. This episode is why it took me a while to recognize her weaknesses as an actor.

Dawn's song sucked (deliberately so, and it was a fun little undermine to abduct her mid-song), but the dance is pretty delightful, a heightening even on the violence that is already heightened above reality in general on this show.

Fun trivia: The three Dummy Henchmen were the same three demons Buffy battled in her first song, and the three dancing with brooms during Giles's walk-and-talk with Xander and Anya.

YEAH HINTON BATTLE.

This is the first scene I ever saw of Buffy ever. Excellent start. Hinton Battle is incredible in this song, and I love that they hired someone who could REALLY do song and dance so we could have a real number written for someone with the full skill set.

Plus we get more of Dawn dancing.

"I can bring whole cities to ruin, and still have time to get a soft shoe in." Love it.

AW IT'S TIME FOR GILES TO BE SAD AND SING HE'S SO GOOD BUT THIS SONG IS SO UPSETTING

ugh, what would this season have been if Tony Head didn't want to move back home? It doesn't fully make sense to me that Giles thinks the actual best thing for Buffy is for him to leave. Most people at Buffy's age are still semi-dependent on their parents, at least if they're still in college. He thinks he's standing in the way of her growing up, because he thinks she's just not dealing because she's not ready to grow up. It's actually about her depression. If he knew that, would he have stayed? Been her support as she worked through it until she came out the other side? God, poor Buffy. Things are about to get so much harder.

The camera work in this episode, it just makes sets we know, like Xander's apartment or the Magic Box, look huge and beautiful, rich with color and depth.

"Wish I could lay your arms down, and let you rest at last. Wish I could slay your demons, but now that time has passed."

GILES AND TARA ARE SINGING TOGETHER EVERYONE SHUT UP IT'S SO PRETTY

"Wish I could stay." it's okay, I didn't need to be happy

Buffy's face. Realizing she no longer has Giles backing her up. All she has is herself, and she doesn't even feel herself. She feels hollow. She'll save Dawn, because it's Tuesday, but she doesn't have much of an opinion on it. It's her duty, but that's all it is.

IT'S WALK THROUGH THE FIRE TIME

This, guys. When this song happened, the first time I watched. My mouth was hanging open. I couldn't deal with how good it was. How much it was what I love about musicals. How much I suddenly cared about a character I didn't know. Because I didn't know who any of these people were.

Also hello to the beginning of my crush on Spike:

That's it, that's the moment.

"Some people-""She will never learn." I DON'T KNOW WHY I LOVE THAT MOMENT SO MUCH BUT I DO I DO IT'S MINE TO KEEP YOU CAN'T HAVE IT.

"One by one, they turn from me. I guess my friends can't face the cold." Buffy feels more and more isolated. Maybe that's even the reason she tells them (aside from the power of the spell) - maybe if she lets them in, tell the truth, they won't turn from her. If they know why she feels empty, maybe they'll stop demanding from her and start supporting her. Oops, that didn't work.

AND WE ARE CAUGHT IN THE FIRE. THE POINT OF NO RETURN. SO WE WILL WALK THROUGH THE FIRE AND LET IT BURN. LET IT BURN. LET IT BUUUUUUUUUUUUURN.

It's such a profound and sad request Buffy makes - here in this world where everyone's singing, she has nothing to sing about. "Where there's life, there's hope. Every day's a gift. Wishes can come true. Whistle while you work so hard all day." - just platitudes - she can say them but she doesn't believe them.

And here it is. "There was no pain."

"I live in Hell, 'cause I've been expelled from Heaven."

Buffy's so sad. Willow's breaking down. It's all out there now. And nothing's been fixed. So Buffy will keep dancing until she reaches oblivion again.

"Life isn't bliss, Life is just this - it's living." It's not much of a hopeful comfort Spike offers, but it is a pragmatic one - it's not always a joyful life, but you keep going anyway. It's the only way to heal.

Ugh this is such a weird cop out, to have Xander as the summoner of Sweet. I hate it. Because Xander WOULD have spoken up. Yes, he's done bad spell stuff in the past, but he came clean pretty quickly when things went wrong. The way he played dumb earlier when people are dying? Fucking bullshit. I think it's lazy writing. There are plenty of reasons to dislike Xander (I refer you to Daniel to elaborate),[He's the worst! - Britta] but this one feels cheap because it feels out of character - not the spell, but the lying about it until the end.

"The battle's done and we kind of won, so we sound our victory cheer: Where do we go from here?" - Giles's delivery is absolutely amazing, and the line itself - "kind of won" - I just love it.

OTHER FAVORITE CHOREOGRAPHY MOMENT.

I love it too, as far as what it means. They hold hands, they think they're connected, but this season is all about isolation, about them separating into their various pains. They walk alone in fear.

Spike invoked The Music Man. My kinda man.

"This isn't real, but I just wanna feel." Much like Spike, I missed the nuance of that line the first time, when I was deep in my shippingness.

ALSO LOOK THEY'RE KISSING LOOK AT MY SPUFFY

...I have issues

Crossfire!

Hey, did you guys know there's a bunch of karaoke tracks on the dvd? We may have done all of them just now.

Favorite Dialogue Lines:

Daniel: "I've seen some of these underworld child bride deals and, and they never end well. Maybe once." - Anya

Zelda: "It was like we were being watched, like there was a wall missing in our apartment. Like there were only three walls and not a fourth wall and MY TOES ARE NOT HAIRY." - Anya

Favorite Musical Lines:

Daniel: "I hope she fries. I'm free if that bitch dies! I better help her out." - Spike

Zelda: "If my heart could beat, it would break my chest." - Spike

Favorite Song:

Daniel & Zelda:

Arc/Continuity Stuff:

Recurring: Giles, Tara, Anya's fear of bunnies, Dawn's kleptomania

Willow's theory is a callback to Season One's Nightmares

Callback to Xander's funny syphilis.

Tara's wearing the lethe's bramble that Willow used to wipe her memory because this show is super fucked up sometimes.